Chapter 838

Chapter 838

“But still... the risk—”

“It will be possible. Considering that His Holiness the Pope bestowed such a buff, and that all future party members will similarly be buffed... it surely means it’s a feasible quest, hence he’s pushing us forward.”

Kijung’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Raphaela.

Raphaela paused for a moment, surprised by Kijung’s words, then soon smiled faintly.

“... If an ordinary person had said that, I would have thought they were being extremely pretentious.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s because he’s an NPC. Showing such faith in Cardinal Romero, or rather, Pope Urban II... if it were anyone else, I’d think it was pretentious. But looking into Master Kay’s eyes, it doesn’t seem like it.”

“Wha!? Th-that Cardinal Romero is— ah, of course, he’s an NPC! It’s just that, you know, there’s a certain... character? Calling it a programmed personality feels a bit awkward, but anyway, that—”

“Pfft!”

Raphaela laughed, beating the table with her silver spoon.

Kijung, who had been rambling incoherently, finally shut his mouth.

His face was already red with embarrassment.

“Alright.”

“What?”

“If Master Kay’s faith were simple, he couldn’t have become the first user Cardinal and a 〈Holy Knight〉. The same goes for the Byulcho Guild. I believe there is a calculated faith behind it. It’s a bit unsettling, but we have no choice but to attempt this mission, even if it means risking our lives.”

Taken aback by Raphaela’s clear assertion, Kijung could not refute her.

‘I had no calculations behind it’, he thought, worried that saying so might change her attitude.

“Then where do we find Pyrot-Cocri? First—”

“Oh! I’ll take care of that.”

“Master Kay? Do you have any idea where to start?”

“Well, sort of. Raphaela-nim, please consider any remaining party formations. I also have a few in mind, so let’s reconvene and discuss. And if you have time, please check the Vatican Library for any materials on Pyrot-Cocri.”

Kijung stood up.

Raphaela watched him with a look that seemed to question whether he was the same person who had been struggling to speak just moments ago.

“Then, I’ll contact you again within two days in Middle Earth time.”

Kijung added Raphaela as a friend and quickly logged out.

As soon as he returned to reality, there was only one person he intended to find.

* * *

“So, Raphaela’s that kind of character? The saintess?”

– Saintess, my foot! Seriously, it’s no joke. Like, wow, I mean, what am I, an accountant? Even accountants wouldn’t calculate everything that meticulously.

“Do you even know what an accountant does?”

– Hyung! I’m a business major.

“... Just a moment ago, you were like, ‘an accountant?’ raising your tone, and now this.”

Leeha made light-hearted jokes with Kijung to lift the mood. Both of them laughed on the call, but their faces weren’t particularly bright.

‘The Pyrot-Cocri quest, huh...’

Leeha had already heard all the details about the quest from Kijung, and he too had the same initial thoughts as Raphaela.

‘No matter how much stronger Kijung has gotten... can one party take it down?’

Leeha carefully envisioned the situation.

While Kijung transformed and charged, others would attack, and Leeha would snipe when the opportunity arose?

‘The picture forms, but it’s impossible. Especially since they’ll know my location immediately, simply joining Kijung’s party would invite danger.’

– Hyung, are you really not going? Though I appreciate you giving me a hint on where Pyrot-Cocri might be...

“It’s not that I don’t want to... I’m just not sure yet. Like I said, I have a penalty. It’ll be the same when you’re tackling it. If party members die, it might not just be a simple death.”

It’s not just about losing allies. Those fallen allies would stand up as enemies.

Especially if he himself were the target?

‘It would be a nightmare for her to hunt me down, calling me her toy... it’s not just a regular monster, there’s no ‘absolute’ assumption here. There’s no guarantee of not dying.’

Leeha’s honest feelings were that he couldn’t bear the idea of creating an undead Ha Leeha with over 120% capabilities.

More importantly, he needed to raise Black Bass’s charge rate for 〈White Reaper〉.

Though he worried about Kijung, he had too little time left to get hung up on a problem with no clear solution.

― Alright, it’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do. I need to get stronger so I can help you out later.

‘Amazing! Does that mean the remaining slots will be filled with more definite and powerful combat personnel!?’

Thinking that Raphaela might be faster in calculations than anyone else, Kijung thanked Rubini.

“Thank you for speaking first. Even if you can’t be a party member, I’ll make sure to share the quest rewards with you, Rubini―”

“But, um... could I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

As Kijung hesitated to speak, Rubini interrupted him, mumbling.

Raphaela quickly tapped Luibini’s shoulder and laughed.

“That might not be the best thing to ask, nuna.”

“But, still― I’m curious...”

How could Luibini have been convinced to volunteer as an assistant?

Kijung tilted his head, listening to the conversation between the two women.

“Sure, ask anything. This isn’t exactly a safe quest, so it’s important to know if there’s any potential danger―”

“It’s not that. I mean, um...”

Just as Kijung was beginning to feel frustrated watching Luibini stammering, she finally got to the heart of the matter.

“Is... Ha Leeha-nim coming?”

“Excuse me?”

Kijung was momentarily flustered but then understood Luibini’s intention through Raphaela’s peculiar chuckle.

‘Hyung... you’re really lucky, aren’t you?’

One powerful ally had joined the quest to find Pyrot-Cocri.

* * *

The first thing Leeha checked when logging in was the charging rate.

Since confirming that Black Bass had awakened, it was the first time the in-game date had changed since then.

“Well, I expected it. Of course, that’s what they assumed. It was clear from the way they described it as waking up at over 30% and sleeping at under 10%...”

〈Awakened Black Bass (1st Enhancement – Magma)〉

(Non-tradable)

Additional Effect―3: Awakens when charge rate is over 30%

Sleeps when charge rate is under 10%

Charge Rate: 0%

“How could it drop to 0%?”

Not just a 1-2% drop but down to zero?

The decrease in charge rate was progressing faster than Leeha had anticipated.

‘The 4% it had was because we defeated the 〈Gigantic Moth〉. We got just 4% from defeating a field boss over level 300, and now it’s zero within a day―’

“Ha Leeha-nim! Over there―”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Yeah, I see it.”

Before Blaugrunn could finish speaking, Leeha fired at the monster he had spotted.

In the grassland about 330 meters away, the shell of a crawling Rhinodillo shattered.

When he first encountered a Rhinodillo, not even Luger’s attacks could penetrate its shell.

‘It wasn’t a skill attack, just a normal one but still, it implies that my regular attack now is stronger than Luger’s 『Pierce』 back then...’

Leeha listened to the Rhinodillo’s wail with mixed feelings.

“Annoying.”

Though it looked like an insect, it actually had an attack pattern similar to a rhino charging while standing.

For Leeha, who understood everything about the creature, killing it wasn’t particularly difficult.

Attacking it once to provoke it, then when it stood up, targeting its underbelly to eviscerate its intestines would do the trick.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With the sound of gunfire, the massive body of the Rhinodillo collapsed.

Leeha tensed momentarily, scanning the surroundings but soon smiled contentedly.

‘It worked.’